Comet Find

Researchers using data from ESA's Rosetta comet probe have discovered glycine. the only amino acid that forms without water, and various organic molecules in the atmosphere of a comet.

The find strengthens the theory that the building blocks of life could have come to Earth in comets.

BEAM Up

The BEAM module attached to ISS has been successfully inflated after an aborted first attempt.

Astronauts will enter the module for the first time in about a week.

Hot Streak

SpaceX successfully soft landed a booster on a ship yesterday for the third consecutive time.  The landing came after the equally successful launch of a communications satellite.

Having established soft landings are possible, the next step towards reuseability is the successful second launch of a booster.

Ice Ages On Mars

New research suggests Mars is emerging from the latest in a series of ice ages.

Mars, like Earth, goes through cycles of colder and warmer periods.  Scientists think understanding Mars' climate cycles will help them better understand Earth's.

BEAM Trouble

NASA tried ti inflate Bigelow Aerospace's expandable module, or BEAM, which is attached to ISS, this morning, but there was a problem, and the attempt was aborted.

NASA plans to try again as early as later today.

Solar Storms And Life

A new study suggests super storms on the young Sun may have warmed the early Earth enough to allow life to rise.

Radiation from such storms would also have changed the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere, sparking complex chemical reactions that could have led to life.

Radiating Fossils

Two new studies indicate that radiation, principally from the Sun and from gamma cosmic rays, would quickly destroy fossils on Mars and Jupiter's moon, Europa.

To find evidence of past life on either of those worlds, therefore, might require drilling meters beneath the surface.